Brenda Didier News

Nearly 16 months after dimming its famous marquee due to COVID-19, Aurora's Paramount Theatre has started rehearsals for its 10th Anniversary Broadway Series season opener, Kinky Boots, marking a pivotal moment for the second largest subscription house in the nation as it returns to live performances next month.

Today, Paramount confirmed three more blockbuster musicals to follow in Kinky Boots’ big footsteps, taking the company through spring 2022 and marking the 10th Anniversary season for Paramount’s popular Broadway Series:

Porchlight Music Theatre has announced a line up including more than 50 Chicago artists performing, greetings and well wishes from Broadway stars including E. Faye Butler, Sean Allan Krill, Telly Leung, LaChanze, Susan Moniz and Kathy Voyto, a new raffle prize for a weekend in the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and more as a part of its annual Chicago Sings fundraising concert.

Each year, Porchlight Music Theatre celebrates an individual who has made an exceptional and lasting contribution to the state of the art of Chicago music theatre with the prestigious Guy Adkins Award. This year, Felicia P. Fields is the recipient.

GRAMMY Award winning artist of Pentatonix and Broadway star, Kirstin Maldonado, will be joining the much anticipated Children of Eden production, scheduled to open in Chicago in the summer of 2021.  

The Jeff Awards has announced the nominees for the 52nd annual awards for theater excellence that include 142 theater artists across 30 artistic and technical categories. The awards will be presented in an online program on Monday, November 9, 2020 at 7:00PM.

Arcada Theatre has announced that Deborah Cox will be taking on the role of Eve/Mama in the upcoming production of Children of Eden, set to open in the summer of 2021.

Academy and Grammy Award Winning composer, Stephen Schwartz (Music and Lyrics), John Caird (Book), and an A-list Chicago artistic team are in collaboration to mount a revamped production of Children of Eden, a musical freely based on the Book of Genesis, in the Chicago area, scheduled to open Summer 2021.

Broadway star, Norm Lewis, will lead Children of Eden at the Arcada Theatre in Chicago along with David Phelps and Brian Justin Crum,

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th Anniversary Mainstage season continues with Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, January 24 a?" March 6, 2020 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, concept by Donald McKayle, direction and choreography by Brenda Didier and Florence Walker Harris, and music direction by Jermaine Hill.

DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOPHISTICATED LADIES is a classic Porchlight show: an ebullient musical revue showcasing both the esteemed song catalog of Duke Ellington and also the formidable talents of some of the city's finest musical theater performers.

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th Anniversary Mainstage season continues with Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, January 24 – March 6, 2020 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, concept by Donald McKayle, direction and choreography by Brenda Didier and Florence Walker Harris, and music direction by Jermaine Hill. 

HIT HER WITH THE SKATES, a new musical about life, love and the roller rink starring American Idol power couple Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, has announced full casting for the world premiere of the Chicago production at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 North Halsted St., Chicago, IL, on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Preview performances are slated to begin March 10.

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th Anniversary Mainstage season continues with Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, January 24 - March 6, 2020 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, concept by Donald McKayle, direction and choreography by Brenda Didier and Florence Walker Harris, and music direction by Jermaine Hill.

Broadway star, Norm Lewis, will be joining Children of Eden at the Arcada Theatre in Chicago in the role of Father.

Broadway veteran and America's Got Talent contestant, Brian Justin Crum, will be taking on the role of Cain/Japheth in Stephen Schwartz and John Caird's Children of Eden, set to open at the historic Arcada Theatre this coming August for a limited engagement Broadway-scaled upgrade.

Due to popular demand, Firebrand Theatre's hit revival of ALWAYSa?? PATSY CLINE will add three additional weeks of performances, extending through Saturday, January 4, 2020 at The Den Theatre's Janet Bookspan Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.

Grammy Award Winning Gospel Artist, David Phelps, to join Children of Eden in Chicago!

Tis' the season that many theaters turn to Dickensian fare, but at Marriott Theatre, young Oliver Twist rather than Tiny Tim takes the stage. Nick Bowling directs Lionel Bart's OLIVER!, the 1960 musical based on Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. With music direction by Ryan T. Nelson and choreography by Brenda Didier, a talented cast of child and adult actors delivers Bart's eminently hummable, if not groundbreaking, tunes. Though certain aspects of the material are irremediably dated, this is an entertaining revival of a (mostly) family-friendly show.

The Marriott Theatre presents Lionel Bart's OLIVER!, which is now running through Sunday, December 29th. The Tony Award-winning musical based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, is directed by eight-time Jeff Award winner for Outstanding Direction, Nick Bowling, with musical direction by Jeff Award winner Ryan T. Nelson and choreography by Jeff Award winner Brenda Didier.